(April 30): Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he will not be going to Permatang Pauh to help Barisan Nasional (BN) campaign in the by-election.

He said he did not think the coalition would need his help in the campaign.

He also said he did not know the BN candidate Suhaimu Sabudin personally when asked for his opinion on the newcomer who is taking on PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

"I don’t know him so I cannot comment. I hope he is a good candidate," he told reporters at Universiti Sains Malaysia after meeting students at the "Cakna Ilmu" dialogue today.

Asked what he thought of Dr Wan Azizah contesting the seat again to replace her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in parliament, Dr Mahathir replied:

"This PKR... I have always maintained that it is a party that belongs to the family."

Dr Mahathir will also not be speaking in Bukit Ibam, Rompin on Saturday, as the administrator of his blog chedet.cc. said promotional material for a speaking engagement by the former prime minister was fake.

"On behalf of the office of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, we would like to clarify that there is no such event planned," said the  administrator of his blog.

Bukit Ibam is a town in Rompin where a by-election is being held following the death of incumbent Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis who died in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor on April 4.

Asked about his thought on Pakatan Rakyat politicians calling him the "de facto opposition leader" due to his continuous criticism of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Dr Mahathir laughed, saying he had been keeping quiet for so long.

He said Umno members were not allowed to ask questions and if asked, it would not be reported in the press.

"The only thing published is that they support (Najib)."

Dr Mahathir said he had been holding himself back.

"But things are so bad and only the opposition is talking.

"What has happened (for example) with 1MDB, is really bad. Money has disappeared... (and it is) not one or two million ringgit.

"RM14 billion or maybe even RM20 billion disappeared. The government must explain. That was what I asked.

"The government cannot be secretive. This is public money," he said.

Dr Mahathir said there were rules, regulations and laws to adhere to, adding that when he was the prime minister, he too had to observe them and bring matters to the Cabinet for decisions to be made.

Dr Mahathir has been continuously criticising Najib over the debt-ridden 1MDB and over the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) cash aid programme.

He has also urged Najib to quit to save BN and Umno from losing in the next general election.

On Najib's comment that he would not surrender, Dr Mahathir said the prime minister had the power.

"This is the kind of thing that should not happen in our country.

"We must not abuse the instruments of government, to threaten people for political reasons.

"I think this country would have a bad future (if that happens)," he said. – The Malaysian Insider